The Sad Demise of Jack's Hair
by Kate Anderson
Summary: Jack's hair meets an untimely end. How tragic.


Title: The Sad Demise of Jack's Hair  
  
Disclaimer: I'll just say that I don't own the characters and you can fill in the rest.  
  
Rating: Mostly harmless, I'll say PG.  
  
Spoilers: Uh...only if you count Jack's hair as a spoiler.  
  
*  
  
Small hands tickled Jack's neck. He brushed them away without looking at the owner of the small hands.  
  
"But daddy!" a voice whined. "I wanted to braid your hair!"  
  
Jack frowned, his pen poised over the note he was writing to Maria. Kate's hands grabbed his hair again, pulling and twisting. She evidently needed more practice on her dolls.  
  
"Kate," Jack tried to turn around but he winced as he felt a few strands of hair being ripped from his skull. "Go find your sister and get ready for school."  
  
"Just a minute, daddy!" Kate said and then gave his hair a triumphant tug. "You look so pretty." Jack turned around and saw her little face beaming up at him.  
  
"Hanna!" Jack yelled. "We have to leave now!"  
  
Kate continued to beam. Jack tentatively felt the back of his head, his fingers running over what felt like a very messy braid. He gave the elastic that secured it a pull and groaned as he realized that Kate hadn't used one of her hair elastics - she had used one that had been wrapped around the broccoli.  
  
Hanna sullenly announced her presence by dropping her backpack on the floor. "I don't want to go to school," she said and kicked at the floor with her shoes. Jack looked at the black marks she left behind with alarm. He just wasn't cut out for this morning routine.   
  
Jack hastily scribbled the rest of the note to Maria, explaining that he would be home late and then dragged Kate and the complaining Hanna out the door.  
  
~*~  
  
Jack caught Samantha looking at him. It gave him some small amount of pleasure to see the edges of her mouth turn up into a smile. He allowed himself a small grin and then turned his attention back to the file spread out in front of him.  
  
Samantha coughed and then coughed again, this time louder. Jack looked over at her, concerned that she might be getting sick. She raised an eyebrow at him and then tapped the back of her head.  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow back, wondering if this was some new form of communication.  
  
"Jack!" Samantha hissed and slapped the back of her head.  
  
Oh. No. Jack winced as he realized that his hair was still sporting the braid. He excused himself from the table and shuffled toward his office, trying to pretend as though everything were completely normal.  
  
He shut the door and began frantically pawing at the elastic. It seemed to have formed a bond with his hair and no amount of effort could dislodge it. Jack muttered a few choice words.  
  
A soft knock on the door startled Jack and he growled a greeting, turning his head completely forward. Samantha's blonde head appeared, she was still smirking. "Nice hair." she said, shutting the door behind her. "Which one was it?"  
  
"Kate," Jack replied with a sigh. "I had to get them ready for school today, Maria had an early appointment."  
  
"Ah," Samantha said. "Did you get it out?"  
  
Jack shook his head. "I think the elastic is stuck."  
  
"Turn around," Samantha instructed. Jack did as he was told and Samantha's hands brushed against his neck and then began gently tugging. It felt much nicer than when Kate did it.  
  
"Wow," she murmured. "This is really worked in there. Tell Kate she did an excellent job."  
  
"I would but I don't want to encourage her." Jack grumbled, fidgeting as he felt Samantha's hot breath against his neck.  
  
Samantha's hands dropped to her side in defeat. "I think we're going to have to cut it out." she declared.  
  
"Cut it out?" Jack repeated. He turned around to face her.   
  
Samantha nodded, her face grim. "Unless you want to go around with a braid for the rest of your life, I'm afraid that we have no other choice."  
  
"Top drawer." Jack said, pointing a finger at his desk. Best to make it quick and painless, he always said.  
  
Samantha retrieved the scissors and snapped the blades open and shut a few times. Jack trembled. "Sit down," she said. "It will make it less painful, in case you pass out."  
  
Jack sat down and closed his eyes. Samantha lopped off the braid with one quick chop. "I think I'd better tidy up the rest of it." she said. "It looks pretty silly right now."  
  
Jack just nodded. All his hair, all his beautiful hair - gone. Just like that.  
  
"There we go," Samantha said, patting Jack's head. "Much better. You shouldn't have to worry about either girl braiding your hair again." She blew tiny pieces of hair off the scissors and then tucked them into her pocket.  
  
Jack just stared forlornly at the hair littering the carpet of his office. 


End file.
